My second exploration into sour ales! I wasn’t planning to dive in again so soon but I happened to find a pack of Wyeast Roeselare and felt inspired. My recipe is a re-edit of those from Jamil and The Mad Fermentationist. The name of this brew originates from a night in Brugge where my wife and I got lost trying to find the De Garre pub. Eventually Jenny and I did find it – down the alley pictured – and got gleefully lost again in many many pretty ales.


1/15/12 – Added oak chips (1 oz) that I soaked in water for like 2 weeks, then my berliner weisse for 2 weeks then cabernet for 2 weeks. Only a very very thin pellicle has formed; good sour aroma, thin taste but there is building acidity. Time will tell!


Ingredients
Fermentables
3 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2.0 SRM) 28.0 %
3 lbs 4.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) 26.0 %
3 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) 24.0 %
1 lbs Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) 8.0 %
12.0 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) 6.0 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) 4.0 %
8.0 oz Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) 4.0 %

Hops
1.75 oz Saaz [3.00 %] – Boil 75.0 min – 19.6 IBUs
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] – Hopback Filter

Misc
1 tablet of Whirlfloc
1/2 tsp Wyeast Yeast Nutrient

Yeast
Roselare Belgian Blend (Wyeast Labs #3763) – direct from pack
Bottle dregs of Cantillon Gueuze into secondary

The Brew
Soundtrack: NFL Football
Brew Beer: Had enough last night…

Stats
Batch Size: 5.0 gal
Mash: 4 gal (1.28 qt/lb) @ 154F, ~6 gal sparge @ 168F
Mash Efficiency: 70%
Water adjustment: 1 tsp gypsum, 2 tsp CaCl2, 1.25 tsp Epsom salt, 3 tsp baking soda into 10 gal Chicago water (targeting West Flanders water)
Boil Duration: 75 min
Oxygenation: 1.5 m pure O2
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity:
Est. ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 20 [Tinseth]
Color: 19 SRM
Fermentation: 66F
Carbonation:
Brewed: 11/27/11 (racked to secondary 12/4/11, gravity @ 1.017)
Kegged:

This batch had two objectives: make a tasty fruit beer and to do a full ‘system test’ of all my new equipment. The homebrewery has several new additions to the equipment ranks; a hopback, a plate chiller, and new dip tubes/camlock fittings. Before going after more exploratory batches (a gnarly flanders red is next!) I wanted to confirm I was comfortable with all this new metal during the brewday. Takeaway? The new components work well but my weakness is still consistency around the mash. Practice and excessive gear makes perfect! This recipe is a riff off of the (note: superior recipe!) kalashni-kolsch.


Ingredients
Fermentables
6 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2.0 SRM) 62.6 %
2 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) (2.0 SRM) 9.3 % [using up leftover grain]
1 lbs 4.0 oz Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) 12.0 %
10.1 oz Acid Malt (3.0 SRM) 6.1 %

Hops
2.00 oz Spalt [3.90 %] – Boil 45.0 min – 27.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] – Hopback Filter

Misc
1/2 tablet of whirlfloc
10 oz Frozen Blueberries [racked on top of into secondary]
3 Pomegranates [racked on top of into secondary]

Yeast
1.0 pkg German Ale (Wyeast Labs #1007) w/ starter (from #038)

The Brew
Soundtrack: NPR
Brew Beer: freshly kegged culture shock berliner wiesse

Stats
Batch Size: 5.0 gal
Mash: 3.3 gal @ 149F for 75min, 6.25 gal @ 168F sparge
Water adjustment: 8 gal Chicago water, no adjustment
Boil Duration: 75 min
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.011
Efficiency: 70%
Est. ABV: 5.1%
IBU: 25 [Tinseth]
Color: 4 SRM [est. before fruit]
Fermentation: 64F
Carbonation: 2.5
Brewed: 11/20/11
Kegged: 12/2/11 (lagering for 2 weeks)

Let’s get weird! My recent honeymoon trip to Belgium was incredibly inspiring. I was already a fan of their bizarre, unique and big beers even before the trip, but seeing all the old copper in person was jaw dropping. This is the first brew in a line of new styles and experimentation influenced by my trip over the big pond.


Sour Starter and Souring Technique
This methodology was taken from the ‘Funk with Less Funk: A Shortcut to Sour Beers’ article by Matt Lange in the March/April 2011 edition of Zymurgy. It utilizes a controlled wort souring method that (supposedly) allows you to control your souring by limiting contact of unwanted off-flavoring bacteria. I recommend finding the article for all the handy details.
Three to four days before the brewday I made a bacteria-culture starter. In a saucepan, I took honey and diluted it down to a 1.030 starter (you can use malt extract if you’d like). Then I poured the solution into two sanitized mason jars and added a 1/2 cup of pilsner malt – straight from the bag – into each. Ideally, the starters should be kept warm, so I kept mine on top of my cableboxes/modem (which I usually keep off, waste of energy!). Several days later, each starter had a gnarly pellicle and had a scent of green apples (note: the one that was kept hotter had significantly more growth). The article states that this green apple scent is normal, you should only toss it and start over if it smells of…ugh…vomit.
On brewday Pt. 1, I mashed/sparged like normal. The wort was then transferred to the boil kettle and allowed it to boil for <2 minutes before I cooled it back down to 100F. I then piped it over to the now cleaned and sanitized mash tun and pitched in my good-smelling bacteria starters (I poured the grain and everything right in!). The wort should then be kept warm (~100F is ideal) for 16-24 hours in order to sour - the longer you wait the more sour it gets, I waited 18 hours for my batch.
On day 2, the wort is returned to the kettle and boiled per the recipe. After the boil, the wort should be cooled and transferred like normal and then an ale yeast is pitched to finish off the fermentation. I will add more notes regarding this as time goes on.


Ingredients
Fermentables
3.75 lbs Pilsner Malt (2.0 SRM) 55.6 %
3 lbs Wheat Malt (2.0 SRM) 44.4 %

Hops
1.00 oz Saaz [3.00 %] – Boil 15.0 min – 5.1 IBUs

Misc
None

Yeast
Bacteria Starter
1.0 pkg German Ale (Wyeast Labs #1007) w/ starter

The Brew
Soundtrack: La Dispute
Brew Beer: Goose Island 312

Stats
Batch Size: 6 gal
Mash: 2.1 gal @ 148F for 90 min [~1.25 qt/lbs], ‘Sabco’ Tube Sparge ~5.5 gal @ 168F
Water adjustment: 7 gal distilled with 1 gal Chicago, targeting Pilsen soft-water
Boil Duration: 15 min
Original Gravity: 1.031
Final Gravity: 1.010 [too high!]
Efficiency: ~80%
Est. ABV: 2.7%
IBU: 5.1 [Tinseth]
Color: 2.6 SRM
Fermentation: 65F
Carbonation: 2.7 vol CO2
Brewed: 11/6/11
Kegged: 11/19/11